The Amboy's Drive-In

Although we’re a literary motor inn, we stand in solidarity with our roadside sisters and brothers, and when they leave us, it’s up to us to keep their memory alive. With that in mind, here are some Howard Johnson Zombies — and where we encountered them.

I’m reading about the crematory owner, as my fourth trip to South Beach since my last great girl traded me straight up for a life of uncertainty comes to a close. The sheriff discovered bodies, stacked like firewood in … Continue reading »

The next Twenty Something to proclaim that he “needed more cowbell” was gonna get punched in the fuckin’ face. Unlike the rest of his life, stomping some backwards-baseball-cap-wearing punk was something within Carley’s control. He had seen Blue Öyster Cult in … Continue reading »

Thh-whack! Thh-whack! Never before during the eight years Earl Barker had spent in countless motel rooms as a cardboard box salesman had he heard a more disturbing sound. While he couldn’t be one hundred percent sure, his worse fear was that the two, quick, bone-cracking smacks which had just exploded through the wall were the sounds of a woman being … Continue reading »

At a certain point as you navigate the Pinellas Bayway in the dark into St. Petersburg Beach, Florida, the lustrous shine of the magnificent 73 year-old Don Cesar Hotel fills your car’s windshield and commands your vision. Continue reading »